Foaly's eyes narrowed as the Ops booth began to blast human rock music. Another one of his techies' amusing satellite tampering expeditions, no doubt. The centaur clopped into the booth, holding his ears as all speakers screamed,

"You gotta fight! For your right! To parrrrrrrrty!"

Foaly trotted over to the keyboard and instantly began to type an override command into the main database, which the computer promptly ignored. Frowning, the tech centaur adjusted his tinfoil hat and attempted to turn off the speakers, but all he achieved was turning on the outer speakers that ran through the LEP building, and the music began shooting out through the halls.

The reactions of most of those in Foaly's view through the thick glass that surrounded Ops was to either start laughing or singing along. As soon as Foaly was done cleaning up the bug, however, and deleting the file that had been placed in the system and set to go off, Julius Root rounded the corner, and he was definitely not laughing or singing along. Not that Root was much of a sing-a-long guy to begin with.

"Foaly! What the hell was that!"

The centaur immediately assumed his expression of underappreciated genius, shaking his head sorrowfully. "Someone's-" he glared at the techies, whose grins had been fading ever since the commander entered the room and now slid off their faces altogether "-idea of a practical joke, I'm afraid. Apologies for the inconvenience."

The commander glared daggers at the fairies outside the Ops booth, who were all slinking towards the door. Reaching around Foaly, he tapped the control panel and watched the metal blast door slam down, then returned his gaze to the technical consultant. "Foaly, remind me why, exactly, Mud Men haven't hacked into your system," he sighed, seating himself in Foaly's chair without invitation and folding his arms over his decorated chest.

Duh, the centaur thought, but he answered aloud, "Because my system is quite possibly the best in the world, and Mud Men have no hope of even uncovering it. Well," he amended, "perhaps they do have a hope, but I think it's safe to say it'll take them a few centuries. In any case, they couldn't get into it, not with the technology they have today."

"Correct," Root said with a nod. "So, tell me, why is it exactly that your system, being as advanced as it is, still gets bugs like that from your employees?"

Wary of the commander's sudden agreeable mood, Foaly replied cautiously, "Well, they have access to the system, of course, and they only play harmless jokes in general. I don't really mind. The bugs are easy to get out of the system, it's nothing fatal."

Julius's smile, strangely reminiscent of a vampire's for a half-second, twitched briefly on his face for a moment before he resumed his usual expression. Foaly instantly knew he was about to become very upset at the least, and with a cut budget at the most. Both of which he was not looking forward to. Arranging his features into a somewhat neutral stare, the centaur waited for the blow to fall. "Say I was a hacker, pony-boy," Root said with another smile. (Two in an hour-that was unusual for him) "Say I wanted to make the LEP systems fail completely so I could take over Haven. From what you're telling me, it sounds like all I have to do is get a job on your staff, right? And then I can fool around with your precious computers all I want, and achieve what I'm getting at. And then life as we know it ends, all because of a mistake on your part. What do you think I'd do about that then, Foaly? Assuming I survived the described chaos?"

"Um..." Foaly was aware anything he said now could prove dangerous for him. "You'd tell me to reboot the system and write a new blocker."

The LEPrecon commander propped his feet up on the computer bank, a smug expression on his face. Foaly went pale at the sight of his thick-soled boots so close to the fragile equiptment, but said nothing as the commander proceeded with his dialogue. "Yeah, I'd do that, but first we'd have a little chat concerning your pay, and then perhaps I'd promote one of your techies into your job, if I felt really annoyed-they know the system so well, after all. Mistakes like that, you see, can cost us. Understand?"

The centaur nodded. "Yes."

"So no more music on the conference speakers? Which, by the way, disrupted the daily schedule? Could have cost us lives?"

"No, sir."

"And no more loose security?"

"No, sir."

"Good," Commander Root grunted, swinging his combat boots off the panels and getting to his feet. "But don't think you've gotten away with this. I think maybe we're paying you a bit too much for you to be going off making mistakes like that. Remind me to slash your budget when I get back to my office. Which reminds me-I didn't just come here to have this wonderful chat: I have a message for you."

Grumbling under his breath, Foaly turned back at the last phrase, half-inquiring, half-annoyed. "Oh?"

Root nodded. "Oh yes. You're supposed to report to the costume room immediately for fittings. Seeing as the last attempt to issue them was a complete disaster-"

"Wasn't it helped a bit by someone?" Foaly added slyly.

Julius ignored this comment, luckily for the centaur. "-we're getting costumes individually, and it's your turn."

Foaly's look of wicked humor promptly turned to horror, and he unconsciously took a step back. "You couldn't. You can't make me."

A moment later, Root's face was inches from his own, and he didn't look very happy. "Look, donkey-boy," the commander roared, "last time I checked, I outranked you! So shut up and do as you're told, or you'll find yourself out of a job!"

Foaly pouted. "Yes, sir." He could still be sarcastic, though-Root couldn't sack him. He was too useful.

The commander frowned at his tone, but had too much of a headache to argue further. "Besides, it wasn't my decision," he said quietly. "We would not be going through with this if it was up to me. But it's not. So get used to it. You're due in the costume room in five minutes."

Foaly wisely let him leave without comment, then, after a moment spent grinding his teeth and muttering curses, he exited the Ops Booth to see the commander berating one of the techies who he apparently had found guilty. The poor sprite was wilting under Root's temper, but Foaly ignored them both and moved on, trotting through the hallways to where he knew Stellar Party Costumes Inc. had made their lair. He pushed open the door to meet a lovely pixie who smiled charmingly at him. "Welcome, Mr. Foaly!" she squealed, hopping off her chair near the makeshift reception and flicking through papers on her clipboard until she found what she was looking for.

"We have your measurement here," she explained, "and we've already gotten your costume all set! It's the only one for centaurs we have at the moment, but I'm sure you'll love it."

"Um...thank you," Foaly stammered, unprepared for this rush of information. He braced himself as, at a snap from the pixie, several attendants rushed out with his new costume and handed it to her.

The technical consultant stared. From what he could see of it, it was something long. And furry. And involving a saddle. As the pixies slowly unrolled it-for effect, he supposed-he realized with dawning horror what, exactly, it was. He took a step back, shaking his head slowly. The head pixie noticed his expression and gave a concerned smile. "Is anything wrong, Mr. Foaly?"

"Is...uh...I mean...are you serious?" the centaur asked weakly.

The female pixie raised a waxed eyebrow. "Serious? Of course, Mr. Foaly. Could you please step aside here and try it on for us?"

Still muttering ineligible excuses under his breath, Foaly clopped behind the proffered screen, not able to believe he was about to begin the transformation into a race horse. You had to be kidding.

And so Foaly's taken care of! Haha, giddyap!

MANY APOLOGIES for the late update, once again, a day after Halloween. ((sighs)) Please do forgive, all. I've been so busy, but I must say I've been lazy, and I should be avoiding such things. I can promise that Chapter Four will be sooner than this one, seeing as I've already started it and it's doing well. Please be patient, and my wonderful reviewers, keep doing your stuff! You're wonderful, the lot of you!

Trouble Kelp: Heheh, sorry, "Trubs"...well, Holly may be coming up next chapter, it will be rather good, I promise. Many thanks for staying with me and reviewing, you're wonderful.

xMetallicBooger:Very touching! Thank you, I'm so glad you liked my update-let me know if Chapter 3 was as good as you seem to think my work is. ((pokes you tentatively)) Thanks so much for reviewing!

xXxTroubleKelpxXx: Oh, I'm not that cruel to dear Julius. A bride? Good Lord...he'd kill me, so I'd rather not, but fear not-I've figured out what his costume is going to be, and he might wish he was a bride by the time that particular chapter is over and done with.

Scottish Ninja: I'm honored by your attention, truly. Thanks once again for taking the time to review, and I'll take your offer. ((snatches cookie from hand))

The Thirteenth Councilor: OMG! A giant chicken! What, were you into the Halloween candy early? Actually, you're on the right track for one of the worst/best costumes I'm planning. (Depending on how you look at it). Will take your suggestions into serious consideration, thanks for your time and patience with me.

scifi chick: Hmm, we all seem to have scary ideas for Holly dear...I'll think on it, alright?

- - - - - - -: I'm so glad you liked my story! Please continue to review, I'd appreciate it. Hope you liked the new chapter.

Jakarutia: Hey there, what happened to your updates? You've left me hanging...
And yes, it's gonna be worse than a pink bunny. Worse. He's going to hate it, I promise. So touched by your comments...! Thanks so much!

Tie Kerl: Aaah, I ruled out the ruffles, sorry, but it's worse...it's fluffy...but thanks anyway for the idea, I loved it. Perhaps I'll do an alternate chapter. Thanks for reviewing again!

athleticsrulz: No, say no more, a few short words made my day and my smile. Thanks a lot for reviewing!

wackywildcrazy: Heheh, well, he's usually that way, isn't he, so I just wanted to describe him in more detail. All the officers seem to enjoy him yelling at someone else for a change. Don't worry, they won't be disappointed for the next few chapters! ;)

So then...ready for Chapter 4 after you've all given me your lovely reviews? It's actually almost done. Thanks for all your patience, everyone-I appreciate it. Hope you found Chapter 3 amusing. Oh, I almost forgot-

In the one time I use disclaimers, let me say that I do not own the song played at the beginning of the chapter. It's "Fight for Your Right (To Party)" by the Beastie Boys. Rather good song too. All credit goes to them for the song, all AF related stuff to the illustrious Eoin Colfer (duh, this is why I hate disclaimers)

So, until next time...cheers! Review!